My little girl has just started school and we are facing the dreaded 'nits' issue. Found ONE on her hair this afternoon. Washed her hair in tea tree shampoo (not nit shampoo though). ANY advice about this problem would be gratefully received as its obviously going to be an ongoing issue! Thanks!

Oh the nit problem.. its ghastly. Out kids never had nits until they moved schools in August and since then they have had them on and off - my daughter especially... I have given up on treatments and shampoos and just use the combing method now. 2-3 times a week (every daqy or second day if they have them bad) we wash their hair and then I sit down with a nit comb and comb and comb and comb and comb...... endlessly until I can find no more nits..... you need to do this religiously and you just help to break the breeding cycle. Its worked everytime and whilst it is time consuming and you have to be diligent, no chemicals are involved. My daugher has VERY long hair - nearly down to her botton, so its a bit of a nighmare, but its the only thing I will use now.

I also do their hair like this every week (when they dont have them!) to help keep things in check.

Hope this helps.

Alex

Conditioner seems to stun them so every 2 days or so, I lather the girls' hair with conditioner and comb through with a nit comb.

I also keep a spray bottle with water, lavender and teatree oil and use that when I do their hair in the morning. THEN, I spray their hair with hairspray.

I've been doing this for a while now and it seems to keep them away.

We've only had them twice, and not chronically. First time only one child was affected and I tried treatment shampoo, but ended up with the comb and conditioner. A couple of years later three of the girls got them and I combed/conditioned daily for a week. Gone. Easier when they're not at school...

I've heard of people having great success with leave-in conditioner type sprays, to which they add lavender and/or tea tree. Another friend uses hair gel smoothed on to tied-back/plaited hair.

Bel

I can confirm that lavender oil works well as a preventative. just put some in a spray bottle with water, shake and spray until the kids hair is damp and nice smelling every day before school. My young bloke is a nit magnet, and we use a product called a "RobiComb" which is a battery powered nit comb that "zaps" the lice dead with a followup egg removal by the conditioner and comb method.

We've had this problem a few times until I started using a chemical free shampoo and conditioner. The lice are so accustomed to chemicals that they seem immune to them but they hate the natural stuff so it works like a charm. I've found the best way to deal with the nits is to pick em out by hand.. it's less stress on the kids and I find it easier than using a comb. The nits stick incredibly to the hair shaft, but if you are hand picking then it's easier to see if you've missed one.. Run the hair through the index finger and the thumbnail and voila.. a tiny little nit..

The good thing about finding a shampoo/conditioner that kills the lice is that if you are using it every day then it effectively kills the breeding cycle. One louse can lay a gazillion eggs, but if you kill off the hatching lice every day then "technically" you shouldn't need to nit pick! Hmm... I reckon I'd still pick out the nits when you first notice the little critters and just keep backing up with the shampoo..

Thankfully we haven't had them for a long time.

Small note: make sure after combing your kids that you change your clothes and or/have a shower yourself, as I found two of the critters in my own hair a month or two ago, a few days after combing the kids hair whilst wearing a set of clothes which i probably then wore for the rest of the day. They don't jump but they are very good at crawling long distances.

Luckily I have short hair and used a pyretheum shampoo and got them before the cycle started. Its very hard to de-nit yourself!!

My head is itchy just reading this!

Has anyone tried sulphur? Apparently lice infest those who are deficient in sulphur. Perhaps supplementing the diet with a sulphur tissue salt or similar from the health food shop. Also could try dusting the hair with yellow dusting sulphur like we do with the chooks???

Never tried it on the kids, but I will if we ever have the dreaded lice!!

E

I took the lazy way out and bought a Robicomb - battery operated comb that kills the lice with an electric shock. It doesn't kill the nits/eggs tho' so you have to comb every second day until all signs of lice are gone. But it's chemical-free and you do it on dry hair. Takes a lot of the fuss out of it all. Sounds ridiculous but it works a treat.

Well, it has happened! My daughter complained of an itchy head last night and when we looked we saw heaps of little dark dots in her hair. After washing with Eucalyptus and combing it out I then found a few crawling bugs, only about half a dozen. I have disposed of the crawlers, but what are the dark dots close to her scalp and the lighter ones in the middle of the hair strands? So confusing. I have tried to get them all off. Are these the eggs which may hatch later on?

I have combed through rosemary oil which seems to kill the crawlers, will this kill the eggs too? I also have my kids on sulphur homepathic pillules which are to assist with preventing lice, will let you know if they help.

A local cure is to treat your hair with vinegar. Wash it repeatedly, and let it sit. It kills the eggs as it is acid (so the theory goes). I had lnits once, and that is how I got rid of them, so I can say that it worked for me!

Most store bought vinegar is %5 acid, and I know that our homemade vinegar is stronger, so perhaps stronger vinegar would do a better job?

Just reading this makes my scalp itch!

The silvery ones attached to the hair are the eggs and must be removed or killed when they hatch. Dark dots close to the scalp I'm not sure about but it may be lice poo, I presume they poo. If you repeat the treatments after 7 days, you should be able to break the cycle. I have used Neem oil products for head lice with excellent results. I think that most people comb the nits out rather than waiting for them to hatch but you're bound to miss some. I'm getting itchy just thinking about it.

http://www.neemaus.com.au/shop/index.php?target=categories&category_id=191

If you like to make your own products at a cheaper price, this is what I do. I actually buy the Neem Plant Spray as it contains a wetting agent and mixes well in water and shampoo. (I have spoken to the manufacturers of this product and the Plant Spray and Horse & Stable Wash are all the same, the only difference is the label). The other Neem oils don't contain a wetting agent and will separate when mixed with water.

250ml of Plant Spray costs $12 + postage and will last a very long time. I buy a 500ml bottle of no-name baby shampoo and mix 1 teaspoon of Neem Plant Spray in it and then add 10 drops of Lavender Oil, 10 drops of Lemongrass Oil, 10 drops of Patchouli, 10 drops of Tea tree oil and 10 drops of Geranium or Rose Geranium oil. These are all top quality essential oils. Shake it all up and shampoo as normal to keep lice away. Smells very nice indeed. People who are sensitive should do a patch test first of course.

You can mix the Neem Plant spray with water and spray your dog and it will get rid of fleas too. Great for roses and other plants.

Buy normal Neem oil to mix with carrier oils to put on scalp to kill lice and to make the nits easier to comb out or buy the products that are already made up.

P.S. Neem oil solidifies in cooler climates so I sit the container in hot water to make it a liquid again. Neem oil on its own doesn't smell too nice.

great advice, thanks jenny. I'll remember that when my dogs have fleas next summer.

pure earth make a cake of pet soap that has neem oil in it and is a great preventative fo rnits. My kids got them and then i did and it was a nightmare. Shaved berens hair off as that was the easiest way out. I also made up some conditioner with tea tree oil and left it in which worked and combing.and combing and combing .............................